With runs hard to come by and Taft locked in a tie with Brandeis in the sixth inning, the sophomore, running for pitcher Vianna Gutierrez, thought Laura Rodriguez's single to left might be the best chance to get the advantage.

Tvelia and the Raiders hit the jackpot as she beat the throw to the plate to provide the winning run in a 2-1 third-round playoff victory Thursday night at NISD Field 2.

“I knew I had to score,” Tvelia said. “I was so determined because we had to win this game. I was running as fast as I could.”

Gutierrez set the stage by drawing a leadoff walk. The courtesy runner took over and went to second on a wild pitch, before Rodriguez singled.

Taft coach Katy Hummel gave her the stop sign at third, but Tvelia kept going. Hummel was happy she did.

“(Tvelia) did the right thing,” Hummel said. “She's one of our fastest girls and I always told our players if I hold you up, but you're halfway there, go. She did a great job of running and sliding past the tag.”

Taft (23-9), which defeated Brandeis for the third time, received another strong pitching performance from Gutierrez, who scattered nine hits, struck out five and battled out of jams throughout the contest.

However, Brandeis pitcher Victoria Silva proved just as tough, limiting the Raiders to three hits, while striking out four.

Brandeis took a 1-0 lead in the second when Taylor Johnson reached second on a throwing error and eventually scored on Emily Smith's sacrifice fly to left.

Although Taft tied the score on Joslayn Madrigal's RBI double in the fourth after a fielding error, the Broncos (21-10) had several chances to take charge.

However, Gutierrez kept working out of the trouble, with her biggest escape coming in Brandeis' final at-bat.

With one out, Silva singled and Brenda Parrin reached on a bunt single. Johnson followed with a single to left, but the Raiders were able to get the lead runner in a rundown between third and home.

Gutierrez came back to get a groundout to seal the victory and send Taft to a fourth-round meeting against San Benito or Edinburg.

“I was shaking, but I knew we could get out of this,” Gutierrez said. “I kept telling myself, ‘I'm going to do it.'”